House members passed the bill 89-0 Monday while the spouses of several slain police officers watched from the gallery. The measure now goes to the Senate.
The bill would cover a wide range of public employees, including police officers, firefighters and other state workers. But the focus was on the family members of police officers.
Currently, their spouses can receive 25 percent of the officer's salary, or take whatever retirement benefits the officer was eligible for at the time of death. The bill would change that, letting spouses receive 75 percent of their loved one's salary.
